“Your shopping trip worked out, then,” said Jasmine.
I introduced them and, even if Sylvie was just alittlesuspicious at me knowing a TV star, they were chatting away happily within minutes. When Jasmine left, she gave me a sidelong glance and a grin that said,You’ve done good. Don’t mess it up.
I grinned back at her, squeezed Sylvie a little tighter, and nodded.I won’t.
41
SYLVIE
It wasthe day before the fight and the tension was starting to win out over my new-found happiness. “You think I can take her?” I asked for about the thirtieth time that day. We’d just come out of a lengthy session of bag work and my arms felt like limp noodles.
“You bloody better,” Aedan told me. “I’ll have money on you.”
I gave him a one-two to the chest. “Be serious!”
“I am. Iwillhave money on you.”
I hit him again and then hugged him. After a few seconds, he stroked my hair and said, “Yeah. You’ll beat her. You’re stronger than her and faster than her and you’ve learned to fight dirty. You’re ready.”
I shook my head slowly. “I still can’t believe...I’m going to have to hit her. I mean,reallyhit her, like knock her down so she can’t get back up.”
He squeezed me. “You’ll be able to put her down, when the time comes. She’s used to dishing it out, not taking it.” He pulled back a little and looked deep into my eyes. “I know what you’re worried about, but she’ll be okay. And you only ever have to do this once.”
I nodded, but I couldn’t get rid of the tightness in my chest.
“You’ll whup her ass,” said Aedan in a very bad American accent.
“Stop! That’s awful!”
“You’ll open a can of whup-ass on her.”
I started to laugh, despite the tension. “Stop!We don’t talk like that!”
“Ohhell yeah—she better get her books ready, ‘cos you’re gonna take her toschool.”
I kissed him to shut him up. “I’m going to take a shower,” I told him, “and then stop at the store and pick up a few things for dinner. You coming?”
He glanced at the punchbag. I’d noticed him doing that a lot, recently, which was why I’d asked. “You mind if I stay here—just for half an hour?”
I grinned. “Sure. I’ll see you at your place.” He’d given me his spare key a week before. When he handed it to me and curled my fingers around it, my heart had felt as if it was going to launch off into space. I was about to face the scariest thing in my entire life, but I was happier than I had been in years. Maybe, just maybe, if I won against Jacki, I could get my life back. Not just the one I had before Alec was injured but a new one, a better one, one where I woke up every morning in Aedan’s arms.
And Aedan was happier, too, since he’d opened up to me. I could see him looking at the gym and our training differently. He was thinking about going back to it. That’s why I was ecstatic to see him wanting to thump the bag on his own for a while. Sure, he’d used to come to the gym before I met him, but that was to lift weights and work off stress. This was him getting back into his old life again, like shaking out an old uniform and discovering it still fits. Rick had convinced him that he was nothing more than a thug. Now, he was slowly returning to the guy who’d first come over from Ireland, the one who’d wanted to be a boxer, not a fighter. The idea of him fighting again, even on the official circuit, scared the hell out of me...but not as much as the idea of him never doing the thing he loved again.
I took a quick shower and practically bounced out onto the street. There was a pretty good grocery store almost next door and I boughtbell peppers and ground beef, onions and spices. I figured I’d make a chili. When I came out, I was so preoccupied that I didn’t even see the car pull up behind me, or the window wind down.
“Sylvie,” said a voice I recognized.
I spun around. Rick was in the back seat of an aging but still impressive Rolls Royce. One of his bodyguards was driving and the other was riding shotgun.
“Get in,” said Rick. “We’re going for a little ride.”
I glanced back at the gym. “I should get Aedan.”
He shook his head. “We don’t need Aedan. It’s time to meet your opponent.”
My stomach turned over. “I’ve already met her.”
He grinned. “Change of plan.” He pushed open the door and brandished his cane. “Get in.”
